Family of four found frozen to death near Canada-US border was from Gujarat's Dingucha

Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel of Gujarat's Dingucha, along with his wife and their two children, was found frozen to death near the Canada-US border on January 19 of this month.

Canadian authorities have confirmed the identities of four members of a family who were found frozen to death near the Canada-US border earlier this month.

All four - Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel (39), his wife Vaishaliben (37), children Vihangi (11) and Dharmik (3) - have been identified as residents of Dingucha village in Gujarat's Gandhinagar district.

The Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police has revealed that the family of four arrived in Toronto on January 12, 2022. This was their first point of entry into Canada. They later travelled to Manitoba and then to Emerson around January 18, a day before their bodies were discovered not far from the Canada-US border.

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Authorities suspect that someone drove the family to the border and fled the scene. Their deaths are being attributed to extreme weather conditions since the temperature in that region can drop below -35 degrees.

Exposure to extreme cold has been identified as the cause of death.

"With what we know so far of their activities in Canada, along with the arrest that occurred in the United States, we believe this to be a case of human smuggling," Chief Superintendent Rob Hill, officer in charge of Criminal Operations for the Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said in a statement.